When gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people don’t feel safe and valued at work, productivity goes down, and organizations fail in their efforts to attract and retain the best and brightest talent.

Many organizations realize this, and have created clear policies on the issues. But in order for the climate to change, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people need allies to speak up.

In this comprehensive training program, Brian McNaught demonstrates how anyone can be an ally to create a respectful workplace that is inclusive of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender co-workers.

Learning Objectives of Anyone Can Be An Ally :

Put a face on the issues that confront lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the workplace.

Recognize the important role of allies.

Learn what to say and when, what words to use and how to get your words and music in sync.

Practice skills in being allies.

Training Goals:

To create a workplace in which everyone feels welcome.

Understand which behaviors are considered welcoming and which ones are considered unwelcoming.

Practice our skills in stepping forward to make our colleagues feel as if they want to give 100% of themselves to the job.

The Anyone Can Be An Ally training DVD includes the 14-minute training video written and presented by Brian with English, Spanish & French Canadian subtitles. It also includes 4 important Extra Features:

FAQ: Brian answers the questions he's asked the most.

Tom's Story: this is a personal story that Brian tells at all his workshops. It's about creating a workplace that's welcoming for a closeted gay co-worker to come out. This can put a face on the issue.

Guided Imagery: Brian takes viewers on a journey to learn what it would be like to be straight in a gay world. This exercise can help open people up to look at the issue from a new angle.

Interview with Brian: this is a behind-the-scenes conversation intended for the facilitator, in which Brian shares more about the challenges of doing this work, and how best to use this program.

The Leader's Guide material is comprehensive and designed for flexible use. It offers a lesson plan for a 60 to 90-minute training workshop, as well as optional modules that use the Extra Features to expand and deepen your training.

Along with the Leader's Guide, the program also includes participant guides, handouts and a Powerpoint presentation. All of these PDF materials are reproducible directly from the CD-ROM, or you can import them into your training materials.

When gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people don't feel safe and valued at work, productivity goes down, and organizations fail in their efforts to attract and retain the best and brightest talent. Many organizations realize this, and have created clear policies on the issues. But in order for the climate to change, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people need allies to speak up.

This is a very thoughtful, balanced resource that merits much attention… an important film on an issue so few of us understand how to address in the work environment. It is one thing to have a skill set in referencing and working with race or religion. It is quite another challenge to talk about gender and sexual orientation.

I have an obvious personal motivation to be an ally: my twin brother is a gay man. I also know two more things from knowing him. The first is that sexual orientation like gender orientation is not a “preference” or choice. The second is that my brother has been a compassionate, effective and even beloved scholar-teacher at the university where he works – but only because he has been fortunate to find the allies in his work community that have supported him in being wholly himself.

My professional motivation in commending Brian McNaught's film is that I recognize, despite my personal commitment, I know that I have a lot to learn about how to be a skillful and effective ally. This film would be helpful to any one who wants to help create a work environment where every employee can flourish because they do not have to expend the energy trying to maintain a firewall between their family/personal lives and their professional lives. These are things that those of us who are heterosexual simply do not have to worry about.

Look at this video. Celebrate what everyone, when respected, can bring to your world.